'noid rage

As a touchstone for designing a new video game, the ridiculously cruel '80s platformer Rick Dangerous is perhaps not the most obvious source of inspiration.

It's one of those titles that takes sadistic pleasure in watching you learn by rote a complex route through a plethora of fiendish traps only to slap you in the face with a boulder the moment you think you're safe.

Yet, from the original 8-bit style Meganoid through to the Game Boy inspired Stardash, OrangePixel has earned a reputation for delivering retro platforming with a brutal difficulty curve, so it's no surprise that its first sequel offers a slightly unbalanced mix of pleasure and pain.

Boulder dashed

Cast as an Indiana Jones-esque hero, complete with fedora and faded jacket, you have to make your way through a series of deadly tombs.

Along the way you'll face a plethora of 2D platforming cliches - from walls that wobble and fall on your head to arrow-firing gargoyle heads and fiendish spike traps - all ruthlessly laid out so as never to give you a moment's rest.

The flashes of Rick Dangerous come thick and fast too, both in the crumbling, cavernous locations and the constant sense that the floor might give way beneath your feet.

With a focus on pixel-perfect platforming, it's reassuring that the large touchscreen buttons are responsive enough to give a physical pad a run for its money.

Unfortunately, the hit boxes around enemies and traps are a little oversized, and this can make many deaths feel unfair. It's a problem further compounded by the volume of teeth-grinding hazards hidden off-screen for you to jump straight into.

Mega annoyed

Whether you persevere through the generous number of stages on offer (and there are more to come) will depend on your desire for challenge and tolerance for punishment.

This is by no means an easy game, but the sense of reward for beating the level timer, collecting the hard-to-reach artefact, and making it safely to the end makes you feel like a platforming superhero.

Like its predecessor, Meganoid 2 is short on originality but stuffed with content. With a free version to try before you buy, it's worth a leap of faith for any virtual jumper.